Device for dispensing a fluid product

ABSTRACT

A fluid dispenser device having a body ( 1 ), and a dispenser head ( 2 ) provided with an orifice ( 3 ) and that is axially movable relative to the body ( 1 ). The body receives a reservoir ( 10 ) containing fluid, the reservoir has a hollow tube ( 11 ) having a proximal axial opening ( 12 ) closed by a stopper ( 20 ) adapted to slide in the tube ( 11 ). The dispenser head ( 2 ) includes a hollow cannula ( 4 ) connected at one end to the dispenser orifice ( 3 ), and provided at its other end with a perforating tip ( 5 ) having an opening ( 6 ) for perforating the stopper ( 20 ), the opening ( 6 ) defining a peripheral edge ( 7 ) extending around the opening ( 6 ) and includes a distal axial end and a proximal axial end, the distal axial end forming the distal axial end ( 59 ) of the perforating tip ( 5 ) arranged on the longitudinal central axis (A) of the cannula ( 4 ).

The present invention relates to a fluid dispenser device, and more particularly to a device of the single-dose or two-dose type that is adapted to dispense one or two doses of fluid in a single actuation.

Devices of the single-dose or two-dose type are well known. As can be seen in FIG. 1, they generally comprise a body 1 that receives a reservoir 10 containing one or two doses of fluid, and a dispenser head 2 that is provided with a dispenser orifice 3, and that is axially movable relative to said body 1 during actuation. The reservoir 10 is generally formed by a blind hollow tube 11 having an axial opening 12 that is proximal (relative to the dispenser orifice 3) and that is closed in leaktight manner by a stopper 20. The dispenser head 2 generally includes a cannula or needle 4 of generally cylindrical shape that is connected at one end to said dispenser orifice 3, and that is provided at its other end with a perforating tip 5 that is adapted to perforate said stopper 20 during actuation, the stopper 20 thus being moved in said reservoir 10 so as to expel the dose(s) of fluid through said cannula 4, towards said dispenser orifice 3. Document EP 0 546 607 describes a device of this type.

A drawback with those prior-art devices relates to the risk of leaks during actuation, which changes the dose dispensed and degrades metering reproducibility between various devices of the same type. In particular, as can be seen in FIG. 2a , the opening 6 in the perforating tip 5 of the cannula 4 is generally formed by a bevel at its axial end that is distal (relative to the dispenser orifice 3), thus forming a peripheral edge 7 of plane surface that surrounds said opening 6. In order to make it easier to perforate the stopper 20, the angle of said bevel is relatively sharp, such that the axial extent of said opening 6, i.e. the axial distance between the distal axial end and the proximal axial end of said peripheral edge 7, can be greater than the thickness of the wall 22 of the stopper 20 that is perforated by said cannula 4 at the beginning of actuation. This can thus lead to leaks while the stopper 20 is being perforated, with fluid potentially flowing out from the reservoir 10 without passing into said cannula 4. Furthermore, as can be seen in FIGS. 2b and 2c , with a standard cannula such as the cannula in FIG. 2a , there is the risk of deteriorating the hinge zone 100 close to the proximal axial end of said peripheral edge of the opening, generating potential leaks.

Documents DE 4 412 041, DE 102 24 101, and US 2009/163877 describe other prior-art devices.

An object of the present invention is to provide a fluid dispenser device, in particular of the single-dose or two-dose type, that does not have the above-mentioned drawbacks.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a fluid dispenser device, in particular of the single-dose or two-dose type, that improves metering accuracy and metering reproducibility for a plurality of devices of the same type, by limiting or eliminating the risk of leaks during actuation.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a fluid dispenser device, in particular of the single-dose or two-dose type, that is simple and inexpensive to manufacture and to assemble.

The present invention thus provides a fluid dispenser device comprising a body, and a dispenser head that is provided with a dispenser orifice and that is axially movable relative to said body during actuation, said body receiving a reservoir containing fluid, said reservoir comprising a hollow tube having a proximal axial opening that is closed by a stopper that is adapted to slide in leaktight manner in said tube during actuation, said dispenser head including a hollow cannula that is connected at one end to said dispenser orifice, and that is provided at its other end with a perforating tip that is provided with an opening for perforating said stopper, said opening defining a peripheral edge that extends around said opening and that includes a distal axial end and a proximal axial end, said distal axial end of said peripheral edge forming the distal axial end of the perforating tip, the device being characterized in that said distal axial end of the perforating tip is arranged on the longitudinal central axis of said cannula.

Advantageously, said opening includes a distal portion of width that is small relative to the width of said cannula.

Advantageously, said peripheral edge includes a radial narrowing for defining said distal portion of small width of said opening.

Advantageously, said peripheral edge is curved axially.

Advantageously, said perforating tip is formed by stamping said cannula.

Advantageously, said perforating tip has an outer shape that is rounded in the radial direction.

Advantageously, the distal axial end of said perforating tip is of shape that is rounded in the axial direction.

Advantageously, said reservoir is formed by a blind hollow tube.

Advantageously, said reservoir contains a single dose of fluid for dispensing during a single actuation of the device.

Advantageously, said reservoir contains two doses of fluid for dispensing during two successive actuations of the device.

These characteristics and advantages and others appear more clearly from the following detailed description, given by way of non-limiting examples, and with reference to the accompanying drawings, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view of a dispenser device of the two-dose type to which the present invention may be applied;

FIG. 2a is a section view of a detail of a standard device of the prior art;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to the view in FIG. 2a , showing an advantageous embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 4 to 6 are views of a detail of the FIG. 3 cannula; and

FIG. 7 is a diagrammatic view of an advantageous stamping unit for achieving the embodiment of FIGS. 3 to 6.

The present invention relates more particularly to a device of the type disclosed in document EP 0 546 607.

However, it should be understood that the present invention is not limited to that type of device, but, on the contrary, applies to any type of fluid dispenser device of the single-dose or two-dose type or of the multi-dose type, including a reservoir that is closed by a stopper, said stopper needing to be perforated before or at the beginning of actuation.

In the description, the terms “axial” and “radial” are relative in particular to the longitudinal central axis A of the cannula 4, as can be seen in FIGS. 4 and 5. The terms “proximal” and “distal” are relative to the dispenser orifice 3 formed in the dispenser head 2.

The invention applies more particularly to devices of the single-dose or two-dose type as shown in FIG. 1. As described above, such a device includes a body 1 that receives a reservoir 10 containing one or two doses of fluid, and a dispenser head 2, provided with a dispenser orifice 3, is axially movable relative to said body 1 during actuation.

The reservoir 10 contains one or two doses of fluid. Advantageously, said reservoir 10 is formed by a blind hollow tube 11, e.g. made of glass, having a proximal axial opening 12 that is closed by a stopper 20, e.g. made of elastomer, that is adapted to slide in leaktight manner in said tube 11 during actuation. Said stopper 20 comprises both a tubular axial portion 21 that slides in leaktight manner in the tube 11, and also a transverse wall 22 for being perforated during actuation.

The dispenser head 2 generally includes a hollow cannula or needle 4 of generally cylindrical shape that is connected at one end to said dispenser orifice 3, and that is provided at its other end with a perforating tip 5 that is adapted to perforate said stopper 20 during actuation, the stopper 20 thus being moved in said reservoir 10 so as to expel the dose(s) of fluid through said cannula 4, towards said dispenser orifice 3. The cannula 4 may be inserted into a cannula support 9 that may itself be fastened in said dispenser head 2. Advantageously, a spray profile 35 may be formed directly upstream from the dispenser orifice 3, e.g. between the end wall of said dispenser head 2 and the proximal axial end of said cannula support 9.

The perforating tip 5 for perforating said stopper 20 is provided with an opening 6, said opening 6 defining a peripheral edge 7 that extends around said opening 6 and that includes a distal axial end and a proximal axial end.

An actuator member 15 connected to said body 1 may be provided to perform actuation. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the actuator member 15 is urged towards its rest position by a spring 16, and is movable manually against the force of the spring 16 so as to move both the body 1 and the reservoir 10 relative to the dispenser head 2. Since the embodiment in FIG. 1 is a two-dose dispenser device, the actuator member includes dose-splitting means that, in this embodiment, are in the form of one or more flexible tabs 17 that co-operate with respective radial shoulders 18, 19 formed on said body 1. Thus, in order to dispense the first dose, the flexible tab 17 co-operates with the shoulder 18, then the spring 16 returns the actuator member 15 into its rest position in which said flexible tab co-operates with the second shoulder 19. Other dose-splitting means may be envisaged.

FIGS. 3 to 6 show an advantageous embodiment of the present invention.

In this embodiment, said distal axial end of said peripheral edge 7 forms the distal axial end 59 of the perforating tip 5, and said distal axial end 59 of the perforating tip 5 is arranged on the longitudinal central axis A of said cannula 4.

Advantageously, said opening 6 includes a distal portion 6 a of width that is small relative to the width of said cannula 4, which distal portion may in particular be defined by a radial narrowing 7 a of said peripheral edge 7.

The invention thus makes it possible to generate a section profile that is much smaller, in particular much narrower, than the outer width of the cannula 4, and this substantially improves the dynamic sealing of the cannula 4 with the stopper 20 during actuation. Furthermore, the perforating force is smaller, typically about 6 newtons (N).

In this particular embodiment, the peripheral edge 7 that surrounds the opening 6 of the perforating tip is not plane in surface, but curved axially, as can be seen in FIG. 4. Advantageously, the peripheral edge does not include a projecting profile. The perforating head 5 advantageously has an outer shape that is rounded in the radial direction, as shown in the FIGS. 3 and 4. Furthermore, the distal axial end 59 of said perforating tip 5 is also advantageously rounded in the axial direction, as can be seen in FIGS. 5 and 6.

Advantageously, said perforating tip 5 is formed by stamping said cannula 4. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a stamping unit, with a deformation bottom portion 100, and a guide top portion 200. The guide top portion 200 includes a cylindrical channel 210 for receiving the cannula 4, and the bottom portion 100 includes a deformation zone 110. The deformation zone advantageously includes an inlet portion 111 of diameter that is greater than the diameter of the cannula 4, and a deformation portion 112 of diameter that is smaller than the diameter of the cannula 4. When the tip of the cannula is forced into said deformation zone 110, it becomes deformed so as to form the tip shown in FIGS. 4 to 6. More precisely, in this embodiment, the end of the cannula 4 is deformed radially so as to bring the distal axial end 59 of the perforating tip onto the longitudinal central axis A. Since the deformation portion 112 is of small diameter, the peripheral edge 7 of the tip becomes deformed so as to generate said radial narrowing 7 a in order to define the pear shape of the opening 6, with said distal portion 6 a of small width. Advantageously, said deformation portion 112 is of rounded shape, which gives said tip its rounded profile towards its perforating end 59, as can be seen in FIGS. 3 and 4.

The present invention is described above with reference to an advantageous embodiment, but naturally any modification could be applied thereto by a person skilled in the art, without going beyond the ambit of the present invention, as defined by the accompanying claims. 

1. A fluid dispenser device comprising a body, and a dispenser head that is provided with a dispenser orifice and that is axially movable relative to said body during actuation, said body receiving a reservoir containing fluid, said reservoir comprising a hollow tube having a proximal axial opening that is closed by a stopper that is adapted to slide in leaktight manner in said tube during actuation, said dispenser head including a hollow cannula that is connected at one end to said dispenser orifice, and that is provided at its other end with a perforating tip that is provided with an opening for perforating said stopper, said opening defining a peripheral edge that extends around said opening and that includes a distal axial end and a proximal axial end, said distal axial end of said peripheral edge forming the distal axial end of the perforating tip, said distal axial end of the perforating tip being arranged on the longitudinal central axis of said cannula, the device being characterized in that said opening includes a distal portion of width that is small relative to the width of said cannula, said peripheral edge including a radial narrowing for defining said distal portion of small width of said opening, the distal axial end of said perforating tip is of shape that is rounded in the axial direction.
 2. A device according to claim 1, wherein said peripheral edge is curved axially.
 3. A device according to claim 1, wherein said perforating tip is formed by stamping said cannula.
 4. A device according to claim 1, wherein said perforating tip has an outer shape that is rounded in the radial direction.
 5. A device according to claim 1, wherein said reservoir is formed by a blind hollow tube.
 6. A device according to claim 1, wherein said reservoir contains a single dose of fluid for dispensing during a single actuation of the device.
 7. A device according to claim 1, wherein said reservoir contains two doses of fluid for dispensing during two successive actuations of the device. 8-10. (canceled) 